How to Sell Your Business: And Get the Best Price for It [Hardcover]

John E. Sampson (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: June 1, 2003

How to Sell Your Business and Get the Best Price for It provides a road map of suggestions, insights, and techniques that will help owners and entrepreneurs achieve success in selling their businesses. This book provides a detailed, easy-to-grasp explanation of how owners can go about selling their companies -- and optimize the price they receive.

It is written to take the mystery out of the process of selling a business, and to help newcomers to the subject become conversant with the knowledge they will need -- and comfortable with the experts they will encounter -- during the various stages in the selling process.

The book covers the entire selling process step-by-step -- from making the decision of when to sell, through determining how to market the company, to understanding the various legal documents involved in a sale, and on to closing the deal and handling the transition afterwards. Throughout the book, John Sampson shares many experiences and stories from his successful career of working first hand with business owners.

Editorial Reviews

From the Inside Flap

Some two million owners of small and medium-sized businesses sell their companies each year, yet at least 70% risk getting less than the maximum price because they do not use a professional marketing approach. Some of the questions a business owner should consider when considering a sale include:

· What steps will the selling process entail?
· Should I get someone to assist me in the selling process? If so, who?
· What is a fair price for my business?
· How do I develop a list of prospective buyers to contact?
· What do I tell my employees and when?
· How do I negotiate the highest possible sale price?
· Should I consider an earn-out, with part of the price paid based on future earnings?
· What legal representations and warranties am I likely to have to make to a buyer?
· What pitfalls do I need to watch out for in the selling process?

This book answers each of these questions—and hundreds more—in depth. Ably written by John E. Sampson, the book walks a business owner through the selling process step-by-step, from preparing the business for a sale through the closing.

About the Author

John E. Sampson has worked with people to buy and sell companies for three decades, first as a corporate executive at two Fortune 500 companies, and for the last six years as head of his own firm, Sampson Associates Inc., which works primarily with entrepreneurs to sell their businesses. During his career, he has negotiated some 100 transactions nationwide, ranging in size from about $1 million to nearly $1 billion.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 198 pages
• Publisher: Beaver's Pond Press (June 1, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1592980007
• ISBN-13: 978-1592980000
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6.2 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,114,585 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Food for Thought, September 20, 2005

By 

Donna C. Coulson (Red Bank, NJ United States) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: How to Sell Your Business: And Get the Best Price for It (Hardcover)

This book is a plethora of information: Determining when it's time to sell, the role of an intermediary in selling a business, preparing a business and its people for sale, and most importantly--determining what the business is worth. The book also covers offers, negotiations, the closing and Lessons Learned. If you are the least bit analytic, by all means, consult this. There's good food for thought before you make a move to sell.

10 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A "Must Read" for Business Owners Planning to Sell, July 15, 2003

By A Customer

This review is from: How to Sell Your Business: And Get the Best Price for It (Hardcover)

After reading this book as a refresher, it brought back to my attention the considerable details in selling a business. The book has given me an update on all the steps involved in selling a business--everything from when and how to tell employees about a forthcoming sale, through negotiating the purchase price and related legal documents, all the way to the final closing process.

This book is a must read for anyone planning to sell his or her business.

8 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great Step-by-Step Description of How to Sell a Business, July 15, 2003

By A Customer

This review is from: How to Sell Your Business: And Get the Best Price for It (Hardcover)

This extremely well written book was very helpful in providing me with a discussion of the step-by-step process of selling a business. I particularly liked the numerous stories of first-hand experiences that the author cites to reinforce his discription of the entire selling process.

It is very clear that the book was written by someone who has actually worked hand-in-glove with business owners in selling their companies. He certianly understands the problems owners face in the selling procress and how to best deal with them.